[Buddha-l] women & , er, religion

[jkirk]

Voila! 
Once I offended a well-known Buddhologer who used to be on this list by suggesting that it would be interesting if some Japanese techies made an anime based on the Lotus Sutra. Having read further and heard further, now I'm not so sure--an anime true to the text would just spread the denigration. 

JK
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On Jul 25, 2009, at 2:07 AM, Jayarava wrote:

> Hīnayāna being most likely a caste-ist term IMHO - hīna being used in 
> a number of other compounds for describing out-castes and 
> untouchables. Dayamati has translated it as Garbage Vehicle, but I 
> tend to suggest Nigger Vehicle for a modern equivalent with a similar 
> emotional sting.

About fifteen years ago I related a story on buddha-l which might be worth repeating. In 1986 there was a conference on Buddhism in America to which monks and dharma teachers of many traditions were invited, along with academics who also practice Buddhism. Carl Bielefeldt gave a paper on the use of the term "hīnayāna" as used in the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkanāmamahāyānasūtra (the sutra of the grandiose vehicle called White Lotus of the Sad Dharma). His point, of course, was that the term was intended as a term of abuse and contempt, and he pointed out that in Buddhism the use of such terms as hīnakarma (substandard behavior), hīnavarṇa (inferior caste), hīnā saṃjñā (substandard understanding) are always use to warn people off things that are to be avoided.

No sooner had Bielefeldt finished than a Burmese layman was up on his feet expressing shock and outrage that a scholar would use the deeply offensive and provocative word "hīna". Bielefeldt explained that it is impossible to talk about the Lotus Sutra without using such language, since one of the principal messages of the Lotus Sutra is that forms of Buddhism not based on the Lotus Sutra should be avoided by those who seek the True Dharma. It is, he said, a sutra designed to offend and condemn and provoke, and one would miss that purpose entirely if one avoided offensive and provocative language.

Bielefeldt's answer delighted the Buddhist academics, but it managed to start a firestorm among the other Buddhists. Theravādins expressed outrage that the ugly word "hīna" had been spoken in a public forum with ladies present, and the Mahāyāna folk were outraged that anyone would suggest that Mahāyāna sutras might be polemical and aimed at denigrating other Buddhists. (Imagine endless references to bodhisattva vows saying that it is a grave offense to denigrate any Buddhist teaching. Moi? Denigrating?)

In the midst of all the ensuing proliferation of tranquil, benevolent, wise and compassionate discourse of the sort that one takes for granted among Buddhist practitioners, a Theravādin monk originally from Sri Lanka but then based in Chicago told a personal anecdote about an encounter he had had with an African-American man. Someone called the African-American a nigger, and the man so designated (dare I say denigrated?) became angry. The Theravādin monk tried to calm him down by pointing out that words are mere sounds and sounds can hurt no one, and there is nothing good to be gained by causing oneself mental hurt by becoming offended at mere sound waves in the air. (Right out of the textbook, eh?) A few months later, the bhikkhu and his African- American friend were attending a lecture at which someone referred to the Theravāda as a school with origins in the Hīnayāna. The bhikkhu admitted to feeling a swell of anger and jumping to his feet to protest. Before he could speak more than a few words, he felt a gentle tugging at the edge of his robe. His African-American friend quietly said "I think you now know how I feel when someone calls me a nigger."

--
Richard Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico
http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes
rhayes at unm.edu






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